The Bronze Jar incident
by MeAndMyReflection
Summary: Ares life is full with unfortunate events. But nothing beats being kidnapped, put into a bronze jar, and then forgotten by everyone for a year. Will anyone will ever remember him and try to find him? If they do, how will they achieve their goal? This is the story about the victim and the heroes that saved the victim life.
1. Chapter 1

Ares - The beginning of a new path.

_The greatest tragedy is ignorance for others._

I don't like my family. I don't hate them, but they just always felt so distant. They always have their own business and most of the time only think about themselves.

Athena is probably training again as usual, Artemis and Apollo are hanging out together with their mother, Hermes is out there having the adventure of his life, while mother and father is probably hanging out like the usual.

Me? I guess I am also training… By beating a tree with sharp stick… But I don't know if you could even call this training. The way I hold the weapon is wrong, my stances is pathetic, and I am actually a coward. All the things that a God of War shouldn't have. I really starting to think I don't deserve this title if I can't even do fighting properly.

"…" I can't help but sigh. I could try to learn how to fight from Athena, but she might mock me again on how pathetic I am…

"Stop thinking so negatively! You can do this! I never give up after all!" I continuously beating the tree with my hand this time until it has a big hole in the middle of it. …Well, at least I can be proud at how strong I am… I move on to the next tree and started to stabbing this tree with the stick again.

"Hah… How can I be better at fighting? This is the only thing I good at! … Kinda…"

I remember how people always call me a savage, maniacal, and uncontrollable man. I can't say they are wrong. I always scared myself whenever I get angry. My scream would become thunderous and everyone would shake in fear when they hear it. I would destroy things and attack people on sight. It would be either Father Zeus, mother, or Athena that would always stop me from my rampage. I wanted to learn how to control this rage, but I don't know how… I don't even know when it was triggered. It always felt like I had a second mind when I was in rage.

I… I never like hurting people, even though I always felt excitement when fighting. But most of the times, it's because we already have an agreement between me and the person I fight, so I don't feel bad to use all my power. War is quite the same, although it's more like agreement between two kingdoms or cities to fight each other in a way… That is the kind of fight I would love to join in. But with my ability, I would probably only be messing everything up.

"What is wrong with you, Ares?! Be more confident to yourself! You are a God! You are surrounded by the strongest being in the world! No one can beat us!" Why I always have negative-minded like this… I usually used training to distract my mind, but it didn't work today.

"Well, I guess it's time to move on to the next target". He looked for a big rock for him to hit now. While he was looking for one, he suddenly felt the ground is a bit rumbled.

"Huh?" He felt something is suspicious and try to find what is the cause of this trembling ground.

He was surprised with what he sees. Two giants are walking toward the Mount Olympus! He is sure that they are Aloadae giants. They definitely look aggressive and seems like planning to do something bad.

"Oh no! What am I going to do?!" There are two things I can do in this kind of condition. I can either fight them, or run back to Mount Olympus. I can try to fight them, but if I fail, who will report them to Father Zeus and mother? I would rather report this to them first…

"I have to run back home-!" It's getting harder for me to stand up, and I now just realize the ground below me is crumbling. The ground erodes and drag me with it.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!".

My mind blanks out for a few seconds, but when it backs to its usual state, I was gasping for air, barely able to move except for my hand. The mound covered my eyes until I can't see anything but black. I can feel sharp rocks is stabbing my back and blood gushing making the soil stained with red. My mind is now filled with nothing but fear. Fear of death, fear of stuck under here forever.

"I have… to get out… I have… to…" Every single movement is painful. When he moved, the soil weight on him even further and make the sharp rocks digs into him even more. But he would rather having pain now rather than stuck in there forever.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The Aloadae giants, Ephialtes and Otos, is preparing to lift mountain Ossa on top of Olympos mountain when they suddenly hear the sound of avalanche near them.

"What is that?" Otos asked with full curiosity.

"It's probably nothing. Just focus on lifting this mountains".

"But what if someone is spying on us? We can't let anyone ruin our plan!" Ephialtes sigh in defeat.

"Fine, go check it out. But make it quick". Otos then walked to where the avalanche happens. He saw someone crawled out of the mound of ground.

"Brother, I found someone! He seems to be one of the God!"

"What are you waiting for? Kill him!" After hearing Ephialtes order, Otos immediately attempt to kill Ares. But Ares that is now in rage mode jumped at him and kick his leg so hard until it breaks.

"My leg! Brother, help!" Ephialtes quickly run toward where Otos is.

"What happened?! Where is that brat?!"

"He broke my leg with his kick! He is right there!" Otos immediately pointing to where Ares is laying on the ground, writhing in pain this time. Ares' screams echoes through the mountains. He seems to be in a lot of pain.

"Does the avalanche hurt him?" Ephialtes manages to pick up weaken Ares and examine him closely.

"I'll kill you… I'll… kill… YOU!" Ares continued his scream but nobody, not even the Gods heard his scream.

"You wouldn't be able to say that when I kill you!" Ephialtes puts Ares in his palm and ready to crush him when Otos suddenly stop him.

"Wait, I suddenly have an idea. What if we keep him as a hostage?"

"A hostage?"

"Yes. If they notice one of their people is missing, they should come to save him, right? By the time they come, we will be prepared to kill them. And besides, that brat just broke my leg. I wouldn't be able to climb the mountains even if I want to!" Ephialtes think hard after hearing his brother proposal.

"I do agree that you need to get yourself healed up… And while waiting for you to heal up, we could see if the bait will work…"

"Exactly!" They then turn themselves into 10 feet tall and punched Ares over and over until he is fainted. They then drag him down to where they lived and bind Ares with a powerful bondage that they have make sure that even Gods can't ever escape from.

"Perfect, brother. Now we will only need to put him inside this bronze jar" suggest Otos. They return to their normal giant size and put Ares inside a giant bronze jar. Right when they put him inside the jar, Ares opened his eyes.

"Where… Where am I…?!" Ares is panicking and try to escape his bondages, but it only getting tighter when he tried to escape and it makes Ares flinched.

"There is no use fighting back. You are our prisoner. We won't let you leave!"

"You'll regret it…! My… my parents will come and save me…!" They can hear a tinge of doubt in his voice.

"Well, we are expecting that to happen, brat. Now sit still and accept your fate!" The giants laugh at him and Ares can't do anything except stay silent.

"Now let's hope somebody will come to save him".

"What if they didn't come to save him? Can we kill him?" ask Ephialtes still doubting the plan.

"That wouldn't be necessary. We can't kill a God. But we can slowly let him wither away as people forget his existence. It will be a fate worse than death…" Ares started to panic again when he heard their statement and start his rageful screams again. They ignore his screams and return to their room.

Few hours later, Ares angry outburst has come to a rest, and Ares can only cry over his pathetic fate.

"Mother… Father Zeus… Athena… Hermes… Anybody… Please save me….!"

.

.

.

.

And for 13 months, nobody ever come to his rescue.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermes and Apollo: Saviors

The sun shines brightly today in Greece. Apollo's room, beautifully decorated with sun ornaments reflects the sunlight all over the room and makes the room feel comfortable and warm. And yet, despite such a good atmosphere, Hermes is ruining it all with his gloomy expression. Apollo knows he can't just ignore him.

"Is there something bothering you today, Hermes?" asks Apollo. Hermes' hands can't stop moving frantically. His legs keep shifting from left to right.

"Well, there are a LOT of things bothering me! It's about Ares!" Apollo is quite surprised to hear that. He thinks everyone forgot about Ares at this point.

"Oh yeah… We still haven't found him… There is still no information about where he is other than his blood under the rubble of an avalanche…"

"We all know that! And you also concluded that Ares must have been kidnapped! That's why I have been searching and searching… But why did everyone else stop looking?! We will never find him at this rate!" Hermes seems very frustrated with the condition they are in right now. He is a God, and yet he is helpless at finding Ares.

"No offense to you, Hermes, But Greece is huge! If we have no reference point on where to look for him, it would be just a waste of time."

"Maybe it will be a waste of time, but it has been 13 months since he disappeared! This is already worse than wasting time! Imagine how he must be waiting for someone to find him..."

13 months already? Time sure does fly, Apollo thinks. "Or maybe he is already dead. You don't know that."

Hermes feels like he was struck by lightning and he turns very gloomy in an instant.

"I know you are a God of Truth, but that is too dark. We need to at least have some hope that he is still alive…"

Apollo feels just a bit bad that he makes Hermes upset like that. "Well, you can ask Hades or The Fates in that regard. Hades knows everyone that has died and will die soon. Ares should be the same".

Hermes takes a deep breath. He isn't truly calm yet, but knowing there was hope was enough for him. "Fine… I will put that on my to-do-list for today…"

"What else are you going to do today?"

"The usual. Watching over trading, watching over people that have long trips, leading people to Hades, and then also looking for Ares. For the past 13 months, I have been checking on each corner of Mount Olympus, Athens, and Thrace. I have talked to people in Thrace. Nobody saw him, and even they are afraid Ares has abandoned them. I told them Ares is very sick and I don't know when he will heal. Everyone is sad when they hear it, but at least they are not panicking or anything. They give him more sacrifices wishing for Ares to get healthy again. I know I lied, but I can't imagine what would happen if I told them the truth. They could have become highly suspicious of their warring neighbor and then attack them so they could interrogate them about Ares. These people need him, Apollo. Ares is one of the few people who care about them"

Apollo was silent for a long moment. Apollo looks at Hermes in disbelief. Despite nobody else even bothering to look for Ares anymore, Hermes somehow still persistently looks for him. It could be because compared to others, he can run quickly to each corner of Greece. But still, he doesn't have to do it.

"Hermes, I don't understand. Why are you still looking for him despite there being no clue of where he is at all?"

Hermes looked at Apollo with a shocked look on his face. "Isn't that obvious? He is my friend! I want to find him!"

"Friend, huh… I'm pretty surprised you said that."

"Huh? Why is that surprising?" asked Hermes confused with his statement.

"You can't pretend he has no bad reputation. He is rageful, violent, a coward, and just simply an emotional mess. Also, he always loses in war"

"Don't you cry a lot when I steal your cows?"

"WE DO NOT TALK ABOUT THAT HERE!"

"See, you are just the same as Ares!"

Apollo flushed red from embarrassment. "N-No! I am angry because there is justification for it! While he is angry randomly and without reasons to be angry"

"Oh, that. Ares said that he has an issue with controlling his anger and he tries to control it. Well, he still hasn't figured out how to do it yet. But we are trying many things, really!"

"Of course you would know that. You are a God of communication after all. I'm a God of knowledge, and yet I never heard of this."

"Knowledge did not equal knowing and understanding other people's problems, Apollo". Apollo feels that Hermes questions his integrity.

"Are you trying to say I am a fool for not knowing his issues?"

"I'm just trying to tell you the truth, Apollo. Aren't you all about that?" said Hermes in a mocking tone.

Apollo can't let someone get away with embarrassing him. "As someone who claims to be trying to help Ares, you seem to be doing a pathetic job at that.".

The tension in the room is getting heavier and Hermes begins to raise his voice. "You're the one who talks! You don't know anything about Ares' condition! It's not something you can heal just like that!" After that outburst, Hermes immediately takes a few steps back away from Apollo. Fighting is the last thing they need to do here.

"Look, I'm just trying to tell you that Ares' problem is more complicated than it seems… And I don't think you care to know more" That is quite true. Apollo cares more about learning every knowledge the world has to offer. But learning other people's problems is not his highest priority. But still, Apollo hates if there is something he didn't know.

"Well try me then. Tell me what Ares' problem is".

"Let's start from the beginning. At first, I thought that Ares simply had anger issues or hated people. But I decided to talk to him about it. He told me that he can sense other people's emotions."

Apollo is trying to hold back his laugh, but that sounds like the most ridiculous power someone could have. "Seriously? Sensing emotions? I know Gods like us have many absurd powers, but that sounds like the most unnecessary power ever! This must be a joke!"

"Say whatever you want, but I am not lying! I even tested his power!"

"Oh really? How did you test it?"

"We walked around the Olympus to look for people for Ares to test his power on. Then we passed through Athena with her usual calm composure manner. But then Ares told me "She is mad about something". I didn't trust him at first because Athena didn't look mad at all, but we approached her. She looked normal at first, but as Ares kept on pushing all of her right buttons, she eventually revealed that she was angry about not getting a perfect score in the class. He couldn't have done that if he can't tell what words make Athena react a certain way".

Apollo goes silent after listening to Hermes' explanation. If he explains it that way, that power can be very useful.

"I see… Interesting power… Can be very useful in certain scenarios… This doesn't explain why Ares went ballistic randomly".

"You see, it's not random. He can sense multiple emotions, but he can sense negative emotions the best. And depending on the intensity of the person's emotions, their emotions will be multiplied on him and make him either have a mental breakdown if the main emotions are fear or sadness, or they make him attack everyone if the main emotion is rage. In short, it's a double-edged sword power."

Apollo stands in silence as he contemplates Hermes' words. Everyday Ares has to avoid people with negative emotions, and if he fails he will go ballistic… And he can't even predict where the negative emotions are coming from. That's why…

"So that's why he leaves the Olympus often..." Apollo said his mind out loud.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I never really care about learning about other people's problems unless they told me first, but I do like observing other people. I noticed that Ares left Olympus a lot to train outside. I did follow him at one time and asked why he didn't train inside Olympus, and he told me that he didn't like the atmosphere in the Olympus. I didn't think much of it back then, but now, it only makes sense..."

"See, I told you so! At least for his case, he is not mad for the sake of getting mad! He is afraid that people will laugh and judge him if he tells them about these issues, that's why he never really told anyone about this. As a friend, I just want him to know that I am on his side and will help him through all the problems he is having. This is why I have to save him! Please help me!" Hermes hopes that this will convince him. Despite Apollo often saying that he didn't care about others' problems, he will always be the one who jumps first if someone asks for help. Apollo is the man of action more than words.

"Yeah, I understand now. I suppose I can give him a second chance. But we still don't have any clue about where to look. Olympus has many enemies, and to find the possible suspect would be highly difficult."

"You can help me collect information. Maybe there is another clue that the other Gods haven't told me or I didn't grasp."

"Aren't you the God of communication? You're supposed to be able to make everyone want to tell things to you!"

"No, that sounds more like brainwashing. As a God of Communication, I can know when certain people want to listen to me or not. You know I am not a miracle worker, and not every god is fond of me. For example, Athena. With my communication skill, I realized that our conversation will eventually derail into arguments."

"That is true. Almost, if not all Greek Gods are pretty stubborn people."

"You are also good friends with her, so that's helpful."

"True… Fine, I'll ask around then. Don't hope for much since it has already been 13 months since he disappeared…".

Hermes doesn't hear the last thing that Apollo said and jumps in excitement.

"Thank you so much, Apollo! I knew you'd want to help! I'll be back in a week or less! You better find some good information by then!"

Apollo watches Hermes leave his house in his excitement.

"There he goes…" He immediately lists down all the Gods he will go and meet later on. He also attempted one more thing.

"... Still nothing…" Apollo has the power of prophecy and predicts the future. He tried to use it to find Ares from time to time, but his power works randomly. He can't decide what prophecy will appear before him. It doesn't matter what his power shows him as long it was an important clue to find Ares. It can be where Ares is, it can show someone that knows Ares whereabouts, or it could be when an important event related to Ares' disappearance would happen. It could even show him if Ares is going to die soon or not. Sadly none of that shows up in his vision yet. He sighed.

"I hope we are not too late…"


	3. Chapter 3

Parched…

Hungry…

And bored…

There is nothing to see here but the dark walls of the bronze jar…

The blood that was dripping off my body is already dried up long ago and cracking off my body.

How long had I been here anyway? I have lost track of time because I can't look at the weather. And the jar tip is not big enough to help me look outside. I can only see the ceiling from here... Also, my whole body is bound up, so I can't take notes on how long I have been here even if I want to.

The giants even already forget I exist and never visit me. And before they forgot me, all they ever did was insult me, so I personally didn't want them to remember I exist. Unless they just can't bother with acknowledging my existence anymore, cause for them that would be a waste of time...

Whichever it is, it means no food and drink for me. It's not like they ever give me anything ever since Iwas put here… I can only lick down the sweat and tears that fall from my face and drink the blood from my lips I purposefully injured before. Just enough that I could kind of speak and maybe scream when necessary.

As you can imagine, with nothing to do here, I am starting to talk with myself. Doing impersonation of my family, doing roleplay for both my family and myself, anything to distract myself.

They were right. This is worse than death. After being stuck in here for so long without food, drink, and any kind of activities, I'm slowly losing my mind. My memories are starting to get hazy. I tried to remember them all, but it's so hard to do when you haven't eaten or drank for a long time… I can't even feel hungry anymore because I haven't eaten for too long. I can't even eat myself because I can't move.

I can't stop praying that either someone saves me or for Hades to give me the release of death. I don't know if God ever prayed to other gods, but I definitely do it now. Can't Hades hear me? Do I have to die first for him to hear me?

And why hasn't anyone found me yet? Do they really forget about me? Or did the Giants just hide me that well? Maybe the Gods don't want me and are glad I'm gone?

I don't know I don't know I DON'T KNOW! I JUST WANT TO GET OUT FROM HERE! KILL ME! ERASE MY MIND! ANYTHING! DON'T LET ME SUFFER BY MYSELF, PLEASE!

…..

….

…

..

.

Ephialtes was cooking soup for the injured Otos. After Ephialtes is complete with the cooking, he carefully brings the hot soup for his brother. Otos slowly gets out of his bed, trying to not hurt his healing leg.

"Here is your food, Otos" He handed the food to Otos.

"Thank you, brother!" Otos takes every bite with the smile on his face. That makes Ephialtes very happy.

"Is your leg better now Otos?"

"Yup! Can't wait to go barge into Olympus again!"

"Yeah, I can't wait too! We will take over Olympus and prove that we are better than them!"

"Have you decided what we are going to do?" Otos asked.

Ephialtes shrugged. "Not sure, yet. But we will make it as fun as possible". As they are discussing their plans in delight, they hear a knock from outside.

"Hello, can I come in?"

Ephialtes jumped in excitement.

"That voice! That's Mom!" Otos screams as soon he recognizes the voice.

Ephialtes immediately runs to the door. His run shakes the whole room. "Mother! Come on in! You must be so tired!". She enters the house and Ephialtes immediately pulls a nearby chair for her to sit on.

"Hello, mother. It has been some time since your visit. How long has it been?"

"Pretty long, that's for sure. You are not doing any trouble while I am not around right?"

"Of course not! Why would we ever do that?"

She then notices Otos injured leg. "Otos! What happened to your leg? How did that happen?"

They both become nervous and Ephialtes try to come up with an excuse. "When we took a holiday around Olympus' mountain, he slipped and fell down the cliff," Ephialtes explains to her, sweat falling from his forehead.

"I see… Please be a little bit more careful, Otos..."

They all nod furiously. Ephialtes decides to change the subject.

"We didn't expect to visit so soon, so we haven't prepared any meal for you. Do you mind if we leave first to get you some food?"

"Yes, I don't mind. I will be waiting here."

"Wait, I want to join too!" Otos tries to get out of the bed. Ephialtes doesn't expect his action and helps him stand.

"Are you sure you are fully healed now?"

"I'm sure I am! See? I can stand now, and walking is not too painful! It has been 13 months since we… took vacation around the cliff, " Otos walks in a circle proudly, although he sometimes still winces and walks quite unstably.

"Well, just in case it still hurts, let's go hunting by riding horses".

"You always come up with a great idea, brother!"

Otos and Ephialtes immediately prepare themselves for traveling outside. They wave goodbye to their mother before they are leaving.

* * *

13 months…?

13 MONTHS?!

THEY ABANDONED ME FOR THAT LONG?!

What the hell is wrong with my family?! Did they forget about me?! Is it that impossible to find me?! Knowing them, they probably go on with their lives and do their stupid drama again! Why couldn't they at least ask Uncle Hades to kill me to release me from my pain?!

Why can't they be as caring and less ignorant like these stupid Giants?!

…..

I'm jealous, aren't I? Jealous of the giants out of all people...

I know they are horrible people that keep me captive and they eventually ignore me, but at least it makes sense because I am a stranger in their house! But despite that, they love each other, and their mother loves them too! I can't say that my mother is not like that, but she also always pressured me to become like Athena and got mad at me when I made the smallest mistake. I love her but I can't stand her too!

And father… He has the worst self control out of all of us. I found it hilarious that they always said I have no self-control while father never stops to think when he cheats on other girls, yet people still respect him more than me! Hypocrites, all of them!

I need to calm down… I can't blame everyone for what happened to me…

For example, Hebe, my cute little sister. I'm sure she cares and worries about me. But she is still so young, she can get kidnapped too. I don't think Mother would allow her to leave the house to look for me.

Then, Uncle Hades is also quite nice to me. I helped soldiers kill their enemies and their souls went to the Underworld. That way uncle can never feel lonely. Uncle always appreciates what I am doing. Maybe he doesn't want to kill me because he wished that I could return home, and he can't look for me because he can't leave the underworld too often. But he doesn't know how much I suffer...

And Hermes… He knew I had issues. He was willing to help me. We were going to learn how to control and use my power, but this happened. The Giants would always find time to insult me, and because I still can't control my power, it always makes me very rageful. I couldn't ignore their horrible and hateful words, and their hatred toward me is driving me insane. Thank God they ignore me now, so I can only feel their positive emotions for each other.

God, I am rambling again, aren't I? I am becoming insane…

Well, at least they are not here today and it was their mother instead...

Wait a minute… Otos and Ephialtes aren't here, and there is someone else in the house…

**someone else someone Else someone ELSE SOMEONE ELSE-**

I can imagine myself laughing maniacally when that idea comes to mind.

Oh God finally! Something that can change the situation I'm in! I know that I can never beg to Ephialtes and Otos because they tormented me on purpose! But not her! She has no idea why I am here! She has no reason to understand why I am here! The unknown possibility!

I DON'T CARE IF SHE KILLS ME OR HELPS ME, I JUST WANT OUT OF HERE!

FINALLY, FREEDOM!

**"HELP ME!".**

I immediately cough after that. I can't believe my voice is so hoarse. I even scare myself from hearing it. I use all of my energy to scream and feel my consciousness slipping away again.

"N-No… I can't go faint right now..." I beg and beg, but my body refuses to comply with me-


End file.
